Very First Kusudama

According to Wikipedia, kusudama means "medicine ball" in Japanese, and the word was originally used to describe balls of flowers or herbs used as incense and tied together with string.

In modern day origami parlance, the term "kusudama" seems to be commonly used to describe any spherical modular origami structure where the units resemble flowers. The variations are endless. This particular kusudama is featured in Rick Beech's "Practical Illustrated Encyclopedia of Origami." The instructions for this kusudama states that, "This [is]...a very complicated model to assemble, and patience will be needed." It was probably a bit ambitious of me to try this so early on in my modular origami life - the units (of which there are 30) are tricky, and assembly is tough. But I am glad I persevered - the results were quite pleasing.

The book's instructions were great, but it would have been really helpful for the book to also note that during assembly, (a) a toothpick is incredibly helpful to guide the tabs into the pockets, and (b) putting the piece in a rounded bowl as you build up the sides of the sphere does wonders in helping you shape the final piece.

Finally, this was the first piece in which I made extensive use of tape on the inside of the piece to help keep units connected as I assembled. Purists will sneer at my use of tape, but for me, it was either that or shoot myself in the head out of frustration.

Two Traditional Classics

While I prefer doing modular origami, there are two traditional origami patterns that I love - the Japanese crane and the lily. Both, I believe, have been around for centuries, and anyone who does origami with any dedication will at some point learn these two figures. I have done them so often myself that I have the steps committed to memory.

For an extra challenge, I made these out of very small sheets of paper. You can see the penny for a size frame of reference.

Fireworks Redux

My son was so excited about the first Fireworks piece we made together that he stayed up late in his room and made another one all on his own. He was only 6 at the time, so that was pretty impressive, I think. Those are the hands that made the piece.

Fireworks

Fresh off the inspiration provided by the modular origami demonstration at the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center, I scoured the existing origami books we already had for any instructions for modular pieces. It just so happened that we had a copy of Rick Beech's "Practical Illustrated Encyclopedia of Origami" - and towards the end was a short but interesting chapter on modular origami. My son and I chose to try making the "Fireworks" piece first since the units were relatively simple to make and only 12 were required. Here is the result - my son was so intent on finishing this piece before bedtime that he chose completion of the piece in lieu of bedtime story. The extra fun thing about this piece is that it expands and contracts like an accordion, and you can also turn it in on itself endlessly - around and around. Very cool.

Our First Modular Origami Pieces Ever

Back in October 2009, my son and I attended an origami show at the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin. The show was terrific and featured some beautiful works of art, but as it turned out, the best part of the show for us was an ad hoc demonstration of modular origami by a local high school math teacher. The teacher had brought paper, models and instruction sheets, mainly to be used by his students (who he had encouraged to come out) but he also helped out anyone who happened to express an interest in learning. Aren't teachers great? So, for about an hour, my son and I sat on the floor and made our very first two modular origami pieces. Neither piece was particularly neatly done, and the damp air made fitting tabs into slots very tricky, but we had a SUPER time, and even better, we were hooked.

Hello World - This is The Origami Hen

About half a year ago, I took up origami as an activity to do with one of my sons, and while his interest has waxed and waned since then, I've started to enjoy it more and more. In particular, I've really started to get into modular origami (also known as "unit" origami), which is basically making origami pieces from multiple sheets of interlocking folded paper. I started as a complete novice, and today, I'd still say I am not better than a good beginner. But it's really fun, I plan to keep it up, and hopefully I will keep improving as time goes on. And as part of the process, I wanted an easy way to document my progress. Hence this blog.

So basically this blog is for me, but if anyone else out there reads it and enjoys it too, that's just gravy.

So here goes. The Origami Hen - end of Post #1.